tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21676444950343166932024-03-13T13:40:27.756-04:00Gravygamer BlogGames_Thoughts_Frivolity_GravyGravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-88607909226123342132015-03-02T16:59:00.002-05:002015-03-02T17:00:11.809-05:00Back again?Remember when I said I was going to stop posting? Well, I guess maybe not.<br />
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I've been watching a ton of <a href="http://chrontendo.blogspot.com/">Chrontendo</a> as of late, which has let me to start looking at my NES and Famicom games closer. I really like those old games, but lately both my NES systems have been acting up and throwing up those infuriating blinking screens. I've tried many things to fix this, and while for the most part they tend to work, at some point (often too soon for my taste) the system reverts back to its blinky self. The way I see it I have several options.<br />
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1. Purchase a Famiclone - While not always descriptive, the word, "Famiclone" is a blanket word used to describe a knock-off NES or Famicom being sold. They tend to be cheap to buy, but there are always incompatibility problems where the system won't play certain games (Castlevania III is a great example). The one exception I've found is the Retron 5, which has banked on telling the world that their system will work on any game with specialized hardware. From my research this appears to be true. However, the system costs around $160, which is not a small chunk if change, though there are <a href="http://nichegamer.com/2014/09/retron-5-now-adds-fan-translation-patch-support/">really cool things the Retron 5 can do that</a> that I can use to attempt to justify the cost. Still, that is a lot of money, and with several other ailing or dead consoles that the Retron does not emulate (Sega CD, Turbo CD, Wii, PS2), is it fair to blow such a wad of cash?<br />
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2. Switch out the ZIF connector - At this point the ZIF connectory on the NES has become legendary in its badness. Just for the record, the NES was shipped out with a special ZIF (zero insertion force) connector that is, plainly put, a piece of trash. There was very rapid wear on them, which once some of the connectors failed to firmly touch the inserted NES cartridge would result in the "blinking screen" problem. Popular fixes are bending back the pins manually (a risky venture), <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/11/weirdness_you_can_fix_your_nes_72_pin_cartridge_connector_by_boiling_it">boiling the ZIF connector</a>, and finally, replacing it with a third-party product. Out of these the last is most preferable (for obvious reasons), but lately there have been a large amount of bad connectors going out, resulting in very rapid wear, which translates to being in the same position in less than a year. The one ray of hope in this arena is the impending release of the <a href="http://www.arcadeworks.net/hardware/blw.html">Blinking Light Win connector</a>, which replaces the entire assembly of a common "toaster" NES, thereby taking away the need for a ZIF connector to begin with. Once it begins shipping (the ETA is April of this year) we will see if this product is worth its salt.<br />
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Well, I originally popped on here to quickly talk about a few of the NES games I've been playing, but instead rambled away about something else. Next time then.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-20256040239017307362015-02-25T14:36:00.001-05:002015-02-25T14:36:36.007-05:00Ce est tout, le gars!<p dir="ltr">So I've gone ahead and decided to kill this blog in favor of another instead of just rebranding and dealing with it. When I first started blogging there was not a whisper on Google about anyone calling themselves "Gravygamer" so I decided to strive forth and blog, having fun and eating a ton of gravy covered items (though not the Genesis cart). Fast forward five years and there are now a ton of people calling themselves Gravygamer (or GravyGamer, or Gravygamers), so I don't see a reason to continue with the nerd handle any longer. No hard feelings, no bitter tears, just a eventual redirect to the new site and one more round of gravy for the house. This is Jason Viande, aka Gravygamer no more, bidding all a polite <i>adieu</i>.</p>
Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-35493677436112755492015-02-25T09:02:00.001-05:002015-02-25T09:02:25.656-05:00Long time no blog<br />
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Wow, has it been while, so long that the last time I used this it was through Blogspot (with the Blogger thing simply confusing me). Not much has changed, although I seem to have less to play games as of late, which translates as less time to write. Most of my energy is spent on my monthly column at RFGeneration but I would like to change that. Well, "want" and "would like to" are completely different things, so we'll see how things go.<br />
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So the big question today is what I want to do with this blog. On one hand I would like to post at least once a week, even if the post has little to no substance to it. I believe this will make me a better writer in the long run, which is something that I would like to happen. Now, about content. Looking at the last four posts I see two that are obviously inspired by the CRPG Addict and two that are reposts of my monthly front-page at RFGeneration. This needs to change, and I was thinking about changing it to a focus on sci-fi games with a loose focus on the space sim genre. This is a genre that I really feel strongly about, but nonetheless I should just start it, without any fanfare or anything. The new blog will be called (perhaps tentatively) The Observatory, shortened to ThOb. Sound good? Good. Next post will have details on my plans for this blog, as well as some details on the first game I would like to play.<br />
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-gravy<br />
<br />Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-89233724376888627452014-07-25T19:27:00.000-04:002014-07-25T19:27:48.653-04:00Hydlide - A Journey of Hate, Dismemberment, and Discovery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Enter 1990 (maybe early 1991). Hot from months of playing through Final Fantasy(my introduction to the genre), I needed a new RPG to play, but I found my funds seriously lacking. So what do I turn to? The small wall of $20 games at the local Toys R Us. Obviously. And of that lean selection of 15 or so games, there was one that caught my eye, with the description of "Action fantasy role playing" on the back of the box. With a joy that only children with extra funds can know, I bought Hydlide, unaware in the slightest the impact this game would have on my life as a gamer.</div>
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Oddly enough on the car ride home I began to feel a bit of trepidation about my purchase. See, that particular wall of cheap games had bitten me before when I purchased King's Knight. Lured in by the price and the promise of "Action Adventure" on the cover, I had bought it without any research. It turned out the game wasn't bad, rather I didn't agree with the "Action Adventure" wording on the front of the box. As I sat in the back seat of my parent's station wagon with my new game, I tried to console myself that this time would be different. I had read the tiny review in Nintendo Power, and everything seemed fine, and the people at NP wouldn't steer me wrong. I opened the box, and everything changed forever.</div>
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Hydlide is an action-rpg developed by T&E Soft and published by FCI (in North America) in June of 1989. While the reception in the West was less than warm, Hydlide is a well liked and well respected game in its native Japan. Often seen as the successor of Dragon Slayer and the predecessor to Ys, Hydlide helped innovate this unique branch of action-RPG with regenerating health and two modes of action (attack and defend). This made progress much easier than in Dragon Slayer, where one had to stay close to shelter or risk loosing it all. In Hydlide one merely has to disengage the enemy, hide and wait for your health to come back. Easy-peasy. Fight, hide, fight, hide, rinse and repeat. Jim (the character you are controlling) will slowly gain experience until you level up and you can tackle stronger monsters. And you will be running and hiding. A lot. See, while this game is progressive in its own genre (in its own day), from 1989 and after it is a punishing and tedious game and offers little reward outside of The Grind. You remember <a href="http://www.rfgeneration.com/blogs/sirpsycho/The-Science-of-Grinding-2770.php">The Grind</a>, right? Created in a different time, Hydlide could have been subtitled The Grind. But don't mistake this statement, as grinding in Hydlide is very different than in many of it's predecessors and contemporaries. In Hydlide, one must be very patient and crafty in your movements. Remembering to click on the "Save" button (which allows you to load from that point should you die) is essential to success, as otherwise death is permanent. Die in this game without saving or generating a password and all will be lost. Taking on too many enemies with too little health or no escape and you will die. Neglect to use magic on certain enemies or explore (which will net you essential items) and you will die. Press an attack too much head-on on an enemy (pretty much any enemy) and you will die. Yet even with all this, there is a certain something about this game that had kept it in my mind.</div>
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Within a few minutes of playing Hydlide I knew that I had made a massive mistake. Granted, I was very well versed in making horrible gaming decisions (Victory Road instead of Simon's Quest, King's Knight, ignoring Dragon Warrior until 1994), but there was something else going on here. For the first time I was told to turn down the sound when playing a game. After an hour the sense of dread was amazing in it's visibility. I imagined I was almost green. I imagined my parents would have used this as an object lesson. $20. Gone forever, never to be seen again. Thinking about another game I could have gotten, all those quarters for the arcade, all those rentals at $3 a day, made me physically sick. I felt helpless and sick. And I would play this game, because that is what I did back in those days. But there was a missing piece of the puzzle. So disgusted in my poor choice of games that I was pressing forward to finish the game (and perhaps bury it in the backyard) that I was not saving the game. I was using the password, but I was dying constantly and having to start over. I would play for an hour, record my password, and turn the game off, having only made a bit of progress (if any at all). I was not playing the game the way it was meant to be played. See, a conservative and dedicated person correctly utilizing the save system can finish the game in a few hours. A stupid kid who only basically understands the mechanics of the game but understands the save system perhaps six or seven hours. I played the game for several months of one hour sessions, never getting far. Within the year the I decided to punish the game in the harshest way I could think of: I removed the game chip and buried the Hydlide case in the backyard, a fate not even reserved for the likes of broken Cobra and Foot Clan action figures. As for the game chip I kept it in a case near my other NES games, just so it would know how much I hated it (as if that was a thing). I wouldn't play Hydlide again for over twenty years. But I did think about it. Occasionally.</div>
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Part of the reason I like to share my personal anecdotes on gaming subjects is to help me understand how this wonderful yet often expensive hobby fits into and affects my life. So how does one deal with a game that one abjectively hates so much that one would actively shun it? My eventual answer was repurchase a copy of it, along with the Japanese version, a sequel, and a remake. Makes sense, right? No, I don't understand it either. But yet I still cannot deny the fact that while this is a frustrating and often tortuously plodding game, it still has its place in history, not only of the NES (and Famicom), but of the action-RPG genre as well. Now I'm not suggesting you should buy the game, or if you already own it actually play it. What I am saying is that the next time you pass it in your collection, the next time you see it at your local game store, the next time you see it on a garage sale table or thrift store shelf, maybe spare a thought for it, knowing the importance that this game had and the ripples it created in some of the games that you enjoy.</div>
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Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-23216465941829770292014-07-20T19:15:00.001-04:002014-07-20T19:57:07.589-04:00MechAssault: Done in One Shot<div style="text-align: justify;">
The MechAssault games released on the original Xbox represent one of the last pushes of the BattleTech franchise to reach mainstream popularity. Unlike the console ports in the previous decade (which with the exception of two games were all ports), special consideration was taken to appeal directly to the console gamer with a new game franchise within the BattleTech universe, which I believe was actually a pivotal moment for this type of thing. While I lack the burden of proof, it seems likely that a direct port of MechWarrior 4 would have been easier, considering the "off the shelf" hardware of the Xbox. Instead the game was designed with the console gamer in mind, taking away a lot of the micromanagement and customization options of the PC games in favor of a more streamlined weapon and mech organization. There are few breaks in the story, as you go from briefing, to mech selection, to mission profile, to mission. All mechs come with a prepackaged set of weapons organized into three categories (ballistic, energy, and missile), with no switching between mechs; if you want a particular weapon load-out you have to use that particular mech. A nice addition (and also maddening to sim purists, I imagine) are power-ups. You can upgrade your weapons two additional times (up to a level of three) with power-ups littered through the game. Sometimes under buildings, in trucks, and always within attacking mechs, these also add a bit of greatly needed strategy to the game, as unlike the main weapons of each mech, these upgrades have limited ammunition, and the game is often designed to take advantage of this. I can't tell you how many times I fully upgraded my weapons and hear the "mech approaching" music only to see it preceded by a flock of worthless tanks. Luckily for us there are also health power-ups scattered about the landscape, which helps remind you that this is a console game. Video game logic, right?</div>
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One of the few carry-overs from the PC games is the need to manage heat buildup. While I never really noticed this until near the end of the game, it nonetheless necessitates your attention, especially when you consider the basic weapons of each mech have unlimited ammunition. Environment plays a part in this as well, as walking into a body of water will help cool you mech off, while fighting on "lava worlds" will cause you to overheat much more quickly. Luckily the afore mentioned power-ups allow for less heat buildup than without your basic weapons do. Again, video game logic.</div>
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The visuals in this game, while not stunning compared to today's games, nonetheless still manage to hold up. There are plenty of details and visual treats to be had here. Shoot at a building and see glass explode in tiny shards from the windows, and watch as mechs take gradual damage then light up in a satisfying explosion, which also affects the buildings, equipment, and terrain around them. Sound is equally impressive, with great weapon sounds and explosions to be heard. If your sound system has a sub-woofer you will also feel them a bit.</div>
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But with all of this there has to be faults, right? Indeed there are. The weapons, fully powered up are very unbalanced. Once might think that the slower and heavier weapons (PPCs and mortors) would be the most powerful, but you are much more served wading into battle with your regular machine guns powered up to the maximum. You will shred enemy mechs like paper with this tactic. Also, while taking away the big choices the PC games had to offer surely makes for a more simple experience, it also introduces another problem, that when one takes away the customization and general mech options (powering down, dumping coolant, grouping weapons), it lays bare the main fault that the entire MechWarrior franchise has, which is that at heart it is a game where you walk around your enemies in a circle and shoot them. This is less true in MechAssault, but only in that you zig-zag instead of strafe. But the greatest issue with this game is the camera. Released only a few years before Resident Evil 4 innovated the over-the-shoulder camera, in MechAssault we are a few dozen feet behind and above our mech. While this simplifies aiming without locking on, it makes anything behind the mech fair game to obscure the action. Smoke and slightly shorter buildings are pretty common annoyances.</div>
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Despite that last paragraph (which had to be said), I really enjoyed this game from beginning to end. While single mech-to-mech combat is a little bit simple, mixing it up with two, three, or more mechs becomes a great exercise in tactical combat, especially taking into account the splash damage the destruction of mechs causes. The game, while a bit easy, managed to entertain me throughout, even though I pretty much skipped the entire story. It's really no wonder there was a sequel to this game.</div>
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So that is that. The game is great and is a definite recommendation to those that enjoy the BattleTech universe or just third-person shooters in general. It is pretty cheap on ebay and even Amazon (in some cases less than $5), but due to no backwards compatibility it requires an original Xbox to play, which unless you happen to have one on hand or a friend whose you can buy, trade, or borrow, can be prohibitively expensive to ship. A better way to play such a title (should you not have the original hardware) would be to purchase it on Xbox, but as far as I know it is not available on the Xbox On Demand service or in the store for sale. I'm not sure why, though it is perfectly reasonable that MS doesn't have the license any longer. Due to the low cost of the MechAssault, I would really recommend trying to pick up an original Xbox to play it. This could be your gateway to play some awesome exclusive Xbox games that will are obscure enough to never appear on another system, and given the null state of Xbox emulation, likely never will again.</div>
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(Sorry about the lack of screenshots. I currently have no way to get pics of this game, and since I was unable to get any of the original press shots of the game sans watermarks I don't really feel comfortable posting them.)</div>
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Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-56467895201138036882014-07-19T15:55:00.000-04:002014-07-19T17:01:28.245-04:00Ultima IV: A Spicy Woman<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last time we talked I stupidly walked into some poisonous swamp, then died a pointless death as I wandered about, idly hoping the poison would eventually wear off. Of course this did not happen, so as I died and prepared to reload (or whatever approximation this game has), I found myself being revived by Lord British in Britain Castle. I briefly explored the castle, then saved and quit.</div>
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Since then I've talked to a few people about this game, and have heard that the game is actually an "open world" experience and contains no overarching story. Very interesting. So, I've still not read through the instruction booklet, which I've already paid for once (with my life) and I'm sure it will happen again. Soon, even. It was suggested that I skip this game in favor of some of the latter Ultima titles (even the Ultima Adventure games, which are also freebie GoG games), but for now I will ignore this advice.</div>
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So I exited the castle and decided to have a look around the town of Britain, which for me means talking to people and taking notes. Whilst on this journey, I came across a spicy woman.</div>
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I'll be honest, I wasn't super ready to ask her what made her so spicy, but this was after encountering the drunk wandering around the building armed (the guy above the Armour sign). Turns out her name is Pepper, and she is a fighting bard. I wonder if the original description of this woman had something to do with the way she looked, or if this is something she goes around telling everyone she is. Plus, is pepper spicy? I mean, this Britannia so far seems rather old-worldy, so maybe they don't have anything outside of pepper. Maybe paprika is spicy to them as well. Imagine what one could do with a bottle of Cholula and a plate of tacos in this world.</div>
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Anyways, Pepper. Alas, I did not ask her to "join," as I need to read the manual about the implications of this action. The reference card suggests acquiring companions immediately, with up to seven allowed, but I want to read up on the classes a bit more first. A fighting bard (Pepper's class) does sound useful, but all in good time.</div>
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I would like to propose something, even though it has likely been proposed before, either by the Ultima people themselves or the hordes of fans that exist. While each of the Ultima games often share common elements (names, locations, and sometimes history), they are autonomous and not directly related or relatable from game to game, much like some of the details in the <i>Space Odyssey</i> series by Arthur C. Clarke aren't always exact. Anyhoo:</div>
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Things to do:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Research the classes to better (perhaps) prepare a team to venture forth to... do something.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Learn how I go up in experience, and if this will better prepare me.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Read the frigging manual! I imagine it will provide me with many answers to these basic questions.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Once this is done I will work on getting a party together to start on those dungeons</li>
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On a separate note, I have been experimenting with different ways to run this game (and other DOS games) so that I can play it using the same save data whether I am at work or at home (basically anywhere I am at a computer). My current solution is to run a Linux Mint 17 (Cinnamon) on a USB pendrive with Wine installed. So far this is working well, but I may want a larger solution with support for Virtualbox in the future, perhaps using a USB hard drive (as opposed to a pendrive). There is a portable Virtualbox, but who knows. Any suggestions will be appreciated.</div>
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One other thing. I find that sometimes I have difficulty playing this game, at times just starting the game, talking to a few people, then turning it off. I may start playing two different games so that I don't get burned out on one genre (or decade). I imagine when this game starts to grab ahold of me this will change, but we will cross that bridge later.</div>
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Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-27339568989493351342014-07-08T01:28:00.001-04:002014-07-19T17:02:46.528-04:00Ultima IV: A Fairly Good Start. Sort Of.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlcrQ7apDn0dTkpYlMbTnNaFE7eXJOl9rN9UqMEbxIbAu3anZVP6i9eMWC1WhRLcMg4bimkoDqVgDpyRXx3IuVsQvmlp4gnA8aV18wf6FgwASInImODjW3-G1D3npZb27jf72g-3zhvk/s1600/ultimaIV_intro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlcrQ7apDn0dTkpYlMbTnNaFE7eXJOl9rN9UqMEbxIbAu3anZVP6i9eMWC1WhRLcMg4bimkoDqVgDpyRXx3IuVsQvmlp4gnA8aV18wf6FgwASInImODjW3-G1D3npZb27jf72g-3zhvk/s1600/ultimaIV_intro.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A badly cropped image of the Ultima IV intro screen</td></tr>
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SLIGHT UPDATE: Before bed I happened across Ultima IV Gold, which is a fan update that fixes the long loads times and a score of other bugs for the original C64 release. While this kind of sounds cool (plus I really like the C64), I really feel the need to commit to one platform, which will be the IBM port. If anyone has any compelling arguments as to why I should go for the C64 Gold fix, I would love to hear about it.</div>
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So after installing the GoG game through Wine (I use Linux), I was greeted by the DOSbox emulator. Also, there was silence, outside of the burping/flatulent sound from the PC beeper. I should have been ready for that, as I am not completely without historical knowledge of the PC (and I did watch some intro videos). Okay, I'm done with the sound thing, I promise.</div>
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I really like the whole intro, how the Avatar appears from the moongate, wages a battle, takes over a ship, then proceeds to blow up a bunch of monsters with it. Seems contrary to what I've heard about this game, but still cool. What I'm trying to do is to put myself in the mind of someone playing this game back in '85. So while I was kind of disappointed for reasons mentioned in the second paragraph, the whole intro really kind of drew me in. Actually getting pretty stoked to play this game.</div>
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Okay, before I begin I have one more tiny tangent. Moongates, right? According to the reference card the appearance and destination of the moongates have to do with the time and phase of the moon, which is something I've seen before. See, back in 1998 I purchased both Ultima Online and the Prima strategy guide, which was about six months to a year before I actually had a computer to play it on. I purchased it based solely on an article in a magazine. Because of this I spent a great deal of time pouring over the strategy guide in preparation for playing the game, some of which happened to do with traveling using moongates. Now when I finally got to play the game I was disappointed to learn that moongate travel has nothing to do with time or moon phase, but rather running through it without getting ganked by another player (hopefully). Okay, tangent over.</div>
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So my first hour in game was rather uneventful. After answering questions to the gypsy woman I ended up with a tinker. The game started me outside of the city of Minoc (due to my class?). I blundered around and came to terms with the controls, talking to people here and there. While the keywords of the conversation are not highlighted, I believe this is the same conversation mechanic from <a href="http://www.therealtexasgame.com/" target="_blank">The Real Texas</a>, which if I understand borrowed it (in turn) from Ultima VI. I've also been taking notes, which the manual recommended. So far this is mostly about the people I meet, such as this:</div>
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<li>Mike Ward, a ranger, says that the rune of the Skara Brae (his home town) is missing. He is also trying to get a room for some reason, but I don't know how to help him with this (might not be able to). Join?</li>
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I thought it seemed random that a ranger would be named, Mike Ward. Something to expect more of later on? Another:</div>
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<li>Gimble is going to die soon from a tsetse "byte." I originally thought the spelling was due to the use of old English, but this does not appear to be so. A pun, perhaps?</li>
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I ended up spending ten minutes reading up on tsetse flies from a website that appears to be written for English speaking Africans and people living in tsetse infested areas.</div>
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I learned something important today. Remember that "culture" shock I mentioned when I first started this? How my console RPG upbringing hasn't prepared me? Today, while wandering around Minoc looking for NPCs to talk to I stepped on some sort of poison ground (poison swamp?), which poisoned me, shortly after which I died while looking for some soft of cure. I think I was a bit disappointed that it didn't wear off on its own, but whatever. Lesson learned.</div>
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After I died I expected to have to start over again, but instead I awoke in the court of Lord British. I think I will be looking over that map after all.</div>
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I think that is enough for now. Until next time.</div>
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<br />Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-29968691545150987152014-07-06T23:52:00.001-04:002014-07-06T23:52:52.314-04:00Ultima IV: A Decision<div style="text-align: justify;">
I always feel the need to provide some exposition before actually writing something, but this time I think I'll just write a blog entry.</div>
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I've never actually played Ultima IV before, which I have been told is kind of a shame. But considering my arcade and console-centric upbringing, it kind of makes sense. It's not like ever played a CRPG before (I actually own quite a few of them)I think I can even say, with no hesitation whatsoever, that I have never actually played a CRPG game to completion before. I have watched several videos about Ultima IV (and the Ultima series in general), as well as read several articles about it (and them). I think the videos by Noah Antwiler, The Spoony One, stands out the most for me. Not for being the most on point or informative, but for being the most vulgar, which has managed to somehow wash the words and sayings of all the other sources away in my mind, which is how I would like it to be.</div>
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Now choice of platform. I think the obvious choice for someone like me would be the NES version, however that seems to be the easy out and defeats the purpose of wanting to experience computer games to begin with. A little more research on the Hardcore Gaming 101 entry shows that this game was originally made for the Apple II, which I might have already know. The C64 version also appears quite nice, though the HC101 author complains of very long load times, which I am not super keen on. Oddly enough he didn't note the same for the Apple version, which would have likely had the same problem. The IBM version appears to be the most widespread of them all as it was repackaged many times over the years. Also, I know for a fact that this version has a fan "upgrade" patch, and can be obtained for free from GoG. So it seems I will be choosing between the Apple II, the C64, and the IBM port. After a long think (about two hours while I did housework), I decided on the IBM port, almost entirely due to the GoG thing, which offers a version I don't have to monkey with as well as several bits of documentation. While the Apple version sounds great (I like the intro music), but I wasn't able to find any documentation, which is unfortunate. The C64 also sounds great but is noticeably less colorful (at least in the intro sequence). Oh, well, time to move on.</div>
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Now the rules: I will do my best to avoid any reviews and completely avoid any FAQs, though I will use the included documents from GoG, which include the manual, spellbook, reference card, and interview with Richard Garriott. The map will be used sparingly and the cluebook not at all (if I can manage it). I am allowing myself to use the article on <a href="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ultima/ultima5.htm" target="_blank">Hardcore Gaming 101</a>, as it doesn't appear to have anything outside of historical information.<br />
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So, first things first, flip open the reference card (as it were). It appears that the game uses individual keys for actions instead of sub-menus. I did see something like this during the ten or so minutes I played of Magic Candle on the C64, so not a total surprise. Glad I am reading this, though. It is nice having basic instructions. I wonder how many kids played through this game without trying the instructions first. I'd love to hear about it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhvQs-jP2uRRO31dAPP4WHnW2ut4pT9_h7Tutf7sAvV2WbiwBJrJ9yoTkXxa17t84OUEySvwo36qS5xvTEAQQkwywf_4kHyzk9c7uev0gXnMPFpr0xKHmAiE2LbSuw3_v9wT9X2sVenQ/s1600/ultimaiv_refguide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhvQs-jP2uRRO31dAPP4WHnW2ut4pT9_h7Tutf7sAvV2WbiwBJrJ9yoTkXxa17t84OUEySvwo36qS5xvTEAQQkwywf_4kHyzk9c7uev0gXnMPFpr0xKHmAiE2LbSuw3_v9wT9X2sVenQ/s1600/ultimaiv_refguide.jpg" height="320" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, at least traps auto-disarm when opening chests.</td></tr>
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After reading the card I really feel I should peruse the manual as well. I don't think any of my previous experience with RPG games will serve me at all, so I think I should have some sort of firm base when I fire this game up. I'm currently loading the manual into my phone so I can check it out tomorrow whilst on break at work. Should be interesting. <br />
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Bye for now.<br />
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Actually, I just realized that I did an exposition in the beginning, even though I didn't want to. Oh, well.<br />
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Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-43114448652280448492012-03-10T02:32:00.000-05:002014-07-05T15:19:31.671-04:00You know you are weak when...... you spend time researching prices on a PSP Go. I <i>do</i> actually own a PSP (a 2000), but lately for some reason I've been eyeing the PSP Gos on Gamestop's website (for $99). Why? I'm note sure.<br />
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Maybe I'll get another My Summer Vacation game for PSP instead.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-32313994581661795742012-02-19T23:55:00.000-05:002012-02-20T23:14:26.333-05:00Backlog Gamer Week 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've decided to start using a numbered system instead of just associating my post titles with dates. Thought it would look a bit better, and I also won't feel so guilty when I post in the middle of the week. I've also changed the layout a bit.<br />
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Not a whole lot to say this week. Due to my Game 2 selection last week I am starting to regret not being more selective with my game collecting. If I would have just <i>put the crap down</i> my sense of self loathing would be at an acceptable level, instead of the gargantuan level it is at now. Is this how Emo-folk feel all the time? If I go stand in the corner with my crappy game(s) and cut myself with a game manual will I feel a accomplishment? Christ, that was way off topic.<br />
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<b>Post Mortem</b><br />
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<b>Enslaved: </b>I really enjoyed playing this game, even though I have to recognize its often glaring flaws, but instead of focusing on camera angles, proportionate bodies, and the quirks of the Unreal Engine, I think I will instead view the game as a whole experience, because I feel that taking this game as a whole is the only way to truly enjoy it (much as I felt about Jak II).<br />
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<b> Games For This Week</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.cdkey-game.com/images/Episodes-Liberty-City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.cdkey-game.com/images/Episodes-Liberty-City.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Game 1 Title: GTA IV: Episodes From Liberty City </b><br />
<b>Platform: PC (Steam)</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: 11/25/11</b><br />
<b>Cost: $2.49</b><br />
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I was pleasantly surprised to see this chosen as a random game, especially as I had started playing it anyway as a pallet cleanser to the piece of trash below. So far everything is fine, though in the beginning I had quite a bit of trouble with the controls. I just don't feel that I will ever be comfortable playing a GTA game with a keyboard and mouse. It just doesn't feel natural, almost like I am contorting across the keyboard like a damn Twister-nut just to powerslide into a turn. I suppose that I could just play Lost and Damned on the 360 and come back to the PC for Gay Tony (that sounded awkward), but the game looks so much better on my computer.<br />
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I am amused to learn that since the game is both on Steam and a Games for Windows game, my Gamercard sig is showing GTAIV on the Xbox Live side and Episodes of Liberty City on the Steam side. I have to say stuff like that every now and then or else they will revoke my Freakin' Dork/Jedi Master card. <br />
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<a href="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/stellar7/stellarfire-3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/stellar7/stellarfire-3.png" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: Stellar-Fire</b><br />
<b>Platform: Sega CD</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date:1998</b><br />
<b>Cost: $1.00</b><br />
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I spent around three days trying to beat this game and only managed a few levels. On the plus side I learned how to beat the game, and on the negative side I don't think I want to go through the effort. Dare I explain? In the game the goal is to collect gems, which can be easily located by following the white bar displayed on the radar. The problem is that the gems seemed to be scattered around the level, so that in some stages following the radar will almost ensure repeating the level (meaning that you will die). However, if you make a map you can find a better, more optimized route than the shitty GPS route the game gives you. This way of playing is just not an option in some of the latter stages. Should I give up? Should I pull an "Arino" and call in a AD to finished the job for me (which means using a cheat to see the ending)? Only time will tell.<br />
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<b>Title: Treasure Adventure Game</b><br />
<b>Platform: PC</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: N/A</b><br />
<b>Cost: N/A</b><br />
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I found this little title while mindlessly clicking on links in my Bookmarks Toolbar. Even though I spend a lot of time on the Internet, I had all but forgotten that I have a Fileplanet link. Weird, huh? Although it is described as a platformer, I find it to be a pleasant combination of platforming, action, and RPG. I especially like that the game has fully customizable controls (a rarity amongst free Indies games), so I can finally assign my movement to the WASD keys and the action buttons to the arrow keys. I know you don't understand this but just believe me that it is important.<br />
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Please play this. You will be surprised then you will have fun. Then you will thank me, which will stoke my ego and make me smile (which is a bi-product of my ego stokage).<br />
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<b>In The Bag For 2012</b><br />
Alan Wake - 1/25<br />
Dead Space 2 - 2/4<br />
Portal 2 - 2/10<br />
Enslaved - 2/17Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-52003172499618074422012-02-15T16:53:00.001-05:002012-02-15T22:49:30.615-05:00Backlog Gamer 2/12-2/18<br />
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Well, my posts are getting closer to the beginning of the week. At this rate I'll be posting on day one by the middle of next month. All right me!<br />
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As I stated last week, when I first conceived this I thought it would be best to show some sport and only pick games randomly. I failed miserably when the first group of games turned out to be some of the most highly rated recently released games in my collection. However, this week I decided to play by the rules and pick randomly. Will I be rewarded for my honesty, or will I feel the flames of redemption?<br />
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<b>Post Mortem</b><br />
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<b>Portal 2:</b> Wow. I mean, wow. The only way I think I can express myself properly is to directly beam the information to your brain in the pure emotional content (so as to not spoil the nice bits). Ready? Errrrrm. Got it? Yeah, what did I tell you! Awesome, right?<br />
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<b> Games List For This Week</b><br />
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<b><u>Game 1</u>: Enslaved</b><br />
<b><u>Game 2</u>: Stellar-Fire</b><br />
<b><u>Game 3</u>: Kyle's Quest 2 </b><br />
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<b>Title: Enslaved</b><br />
<b>Platform: Xbox 360</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: 9/29/11</b><br />
<b>Cost: $9.99</b><br />
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At last, Enslaved finally gets the attention it deserves. I know that in the past I seemed a little "blah" on it, stating that it seemed a little average and maybe generic. I would now like to formally take this back. Sure, in some cases the action can be a bit predictable (I'm speaking specifically of the general direction of the action, not the action itself), but Enslaved has sunk its claws into me, and not just the story this time: The characters, action , along with the story are equally as important to my experience. I especially enjoy how, for all his supposed strength, Monkey is often completely outmatched by the mechs in combat (even against the "weaker" ones) and is forced to rely almost exclusively on his unmatched agility.<br />
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If I reviewed games I would give this game a solid B as long as it holds out to the end.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/stellar7/stellarfire-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/stellar7/stellarfire-3.png" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: Stellar-Fire</b><br />
<b>Platform: Sega CD</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date:1998</b><br />
<b>Cost: $1.00</b><br />
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The funny thing is that I thought for sure that most of the games I randomly picked would end up being PC or NES games, which makes sense as those platforms make up over 26% and 20% of my collection (respectively). In the end I think I had to hit the random button three times. The first two were either demos or games I'd already beaten, and on the third Stellar-Fire popped up. I have to admit I am rather nervous. I have <i>never</i> played this game, not even to test. I purchased all of my Sega CD games in a lot, and I was only really interested in the Working Designs games that came with it. <br />
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Playing this game might prove a little harder, as my Sega CD was acting "weird" the last time I booted it up. Therefore, I will use my laptop as an emulator, which should be interesting at the very least.<br />
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<b>Title: Kyle's Quest 2</b><br />
<b>Platform: iOS</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: N/A</b><br />
<b>Cost: N/A</b><br />
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Once upon a time there was a group of devices called PDAs. While they were mainly for organizational and productivity purposes, it turned out that people wanted to also play games. Many of these games were fun, but most sucked. A game that didn't suck on this platform was a little series called Kyle's Quest. At heart modeled after 8-bit role playing games, this two Kyle's Quest games featured Japanese-inspired big-head characters but with a nice Western twist: you could make your own adventures. While this sort of control didn't appeal to everyone, it wasn't long before there were a ton of great adventures to play. While the games weren't free (very little quality titles were free on PDAs) the adventures were, meaning that one could easily make the $14.99 price tags a non-issue.<br />
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Kyle's Quest 2 (and the innumerable downloads for it) provided me many hours of entertainment in a very dark part of my life. Because of this I didn't expect to care much when I found this game in the iOS App Store (just thinking about it brought back memories of hospital-sterility) for free, but I was surprised. Though the game has lost the ability to load player made levels from the Internet, there are still twenty different games loaded in, and since many of them are short, they fit the aesthetics of a mobile platform.<br />
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I don't see myself deleting this game on Monday as I have done with the previous weeks "Game 3" title.<br />
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<b>In The Bag For 2012</b><br />
Alan Wake - 1/25<br />
Dead Space 2 - 2/4<br />
Portal 2 - 2/10Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-77053197619391994242012-02-09T16:04:00.001-05:002012-02-09T16:05:00.909-05:00Backlog Gamer 2/5-2/11<br />
I probably should have explained the ideas behind this blog a it better last week. My intentions were to play through my game collection, choosing only games that I had not finished (I know that is a subjective term, but we can cross that road later, I think). This project should keep me busy for quite a while, even taking into account the extra time I now have. Got it? Good.<br />
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Regarding the Games List, because I cannot count on being able to play games either on a television or computer (my wife or one of my children are utilizing it, for example), I thought it best to choose two games from different platforms (usually PC and a console game) and play through them. But since I have such a Jones for indie and mobile games, I would add a third game for that week that could be on any platform (and more importantly, allow me to continue gaming on my laptop should other avenues be closed). The plan was that I would pick a primary game, a secondary game, and a "side" game. The primary and secondary game would be from my personal collection, and could be played for the amount of time needed to "finish" the game. The "side" game would be a indie or casual game of my own choice, but regardless of where I was at the end of the week, I would put it down and pick up another. Because some games would be finished before others, I decided to changed the game naming convention from "Primary" and "Secondary" to "Game 1" and "Game 2", with the indie or casual being "Game 3." Still with me? Good. because that is enough ranting for this week.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Post Mortem</b><br />
<br />
<b>Dead Space 2:</b> This game was wonderful from beginning to end, though I felt some parts of it were meant for a "Strategy Guide Gamer." As I made my way through the game, I spent my Power Nodes on upgrades for my Rig, my Plasma Cutter, and a few other weapons. My error was apparent as I faced the final boss with nearly no ammo and for my main shooter (Plasma Cutter) and no sufficient "big" weapon. It took me an hour to finally make it. It wasn't pretty. After I reviewed the a few guides on Gamefaqs I saw I could have cut a few hours out of my final time (about eleven hours) if I had followed the weapon upgrade paths listed. Oh, well. I will end up playing this game again for sure just to play with the weapons, I think.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b> Games List For This Week</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b><u>Game 1</u>: Portal 2</b><br />
<b><u>Game 2</u>: Enslaved</b><br />
<b><u>Game 3</u>: Cartoon Wars: Gunner </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2i74ucEBA_ZZHKZTkXYih1fWgx-uzOOtq-R20C1PGs02XqfCp3c9Hx-mmw78jI5p0uIpViNV0m5JKfXpqMhSshGTfKvps9EOinlRME1tOjSVxPW5fUWJtEeRdjRSlrf1WZtcgraUPHFp/s1600/Portal2_logo_icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2i74ucEBA_ZZHKZTkXYih1fWgx-uzOOtq-R20C1PGs02XqfCp3c9Hx-mmw78jI5p0uIpViNV0m5JKfXpqMhSshGTfKvps9EOinlRME1tOjSVxPW5fUWJtEeRdjRSlrf1WZtcgraUPHFp/s200/Portal2_logo_icon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: Portal 2</b><br />
<b>Platform: Steam (on PC)</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: 1/1/12</b><br />
<b>Cost: $7.25</b><br />
<br />
This game is... The thing about Portal 2 is... I just realized that I can't even really talk about this game without giving things away, which is the last thing I would want to do to someone who has yet to experience this masterpiece. Ah, I have it! The game takes the content from the first game and turns it up to eleven! Too cliche? Portal 2 takes the excellent puzzle-type gameplay and engrossing story and of Portal 1 and then eclipses it in every way. Did you like Portal? Then you need to play Portal 2<br />
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<b>Title: Enslaved</b><br />
<b>Platform: Xbox 360</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: 9/29/11</b><br />
<b>Cost: $9.99</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
The smart thing for me to do when I finished Dead Space 2 would have been to focus on playing this game first and pick a replacement later. Oh, well. I still contend that the best feature of this game is Trip, who exhibits emotions and behaviors that break the usual female stereotypes featured games up till now. I'm just about out of things to say about this game, so I'll make sure to beat it next.<br />
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<a href="http://media1.android-apps.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Cartoon-Gunner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://media1.android-apps.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Cartoon-Gunner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: Cartoon Wars: Gunner</b><br />
<b>Platform: iOS</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: N/A</b><br />
<b>Cost: N/A</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
There are about a million types of this game available on iOS. This is neither the best or worst, but the one that I saw first (that was free). You play a stickfigure out to survive waves of various weapon-wielding stick figures and strange beasts, using various upgradable missile (such as guns and bows) and melee weapons (such as swords and... swords). You can even get a minigun-firing mech at some point (with the appropriate amount of gold). Fun and light, which is all I really need for a casual game.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>In The Bag For 2012</b><br />
Alan Wake - 1/25<br />
Dead Space 2 - 2/4Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-74484168189150226152012-02-01T16:37:00.001-05:002012-02-01T16:38:21.099-05:00Backlog Gamer 1/29-2/4Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't played more than an hour of videogames in more than four years. Full-time School, that great and massive force, took all of my free time. Like a breastfeeding mother of triplets, I just didn't have any time for anything but the necessities (that being family, school, and work).<br />
<br />
That has ended. From this moment on (or until I get too bored with it), I'm going to burn my gaming-candle at both ends. I will have to take occasional breaks for continuing education (the bane/boon of the IT industry), but for the most part every second of extra time that is not used to chip away at my large honey-do list will be spent working on my massive videogame backlog.<br />
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Enter the Backlog Gamer. I know, the name is lame. It's all I have at the moment, and will likely change in the near future.<br />
<br />
I finished the first game on the list, Alan Wake, before I decided to write this series of articles. Because of that I will make a few comments on it then banish it to the "In The Bag" completion list and speak of it no more! Suffice to say that it is a great game that uses (but does not overuse) a light/darkness element as well as a spoken narrative by Alan Wake himself. I loved the combat, even though I heard endless bitching from reviews and other gamers about it. I plan on at some point purchasing the two DLC packs for it and maybe even making it a yearly or bi-yearly play.<br />
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<b> </b><br />
<b> Games List For This Week</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b><u>Game 1</u>: Dead Space 2 </b><br />
<b><u>Game 2</u>: Enslaved</b><br />
<b><u>Game 3</u>: Dig-N-Rig</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkXYocghfmhX5TsjjBjd221JpSTImBj2ap0jxzps1pNZ-fCbsD-EzSqMr12Dz5KHBtP3daO0MfcgV78TXbSgGWx-Oig6A8kd7SR7Ka1iwH5qZ-0qcWQmbnNk1BFryBcojKz9nUg6Hf0I/s1600/Incoming-2011-Dead-Space-2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkXYocghfmhX5TsjjBjd221JpSTImBj2ap0jxzps1pNZ-fCbsD-EzSqMr12Dz5KHBtP3daO0MfcgV78TXbSgGWx-Oig6A8kd7SR7Ka1iwH5qZ-0qcWQmbnNk1BFryBcojKz9nUg6Hf0I/s200/Incoming-2011-Dead-Space-2-2.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<b>Title: Dead Space 2</b><br />
<b>Platform: Steam (on PC)</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: 1/1/12</b><br />
<b>Cost: $9.99</b><br />
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I am almost done with this game (I think). I could be wrong I guess, as I was sure I had reached the ending about three times now. I was surprised by the strategy required to play this game. Sure, you might be able to play the game by blasting everything in sight, but I wasn't able to. It took longer than I care to admit that this game is as much a strategy/survival-horror game as much as a third-person shooter, requiring that you spend as much time learning to use the right tool for the right necromorph encounter as possible. The story is also quite good. I especially like the way it is told, not just with cutscene footage and the audio/text logs scattered about, but also the settings and props in the rooms themselves. Some rooms will tell a story of a struggle, with mutilated corpses scattered about, while another shows whole families still on the floor next to ominous white cups.<br />
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Great game. Great buy. You should probably play it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskHqDBxV25NQPJuKIJ4GwjP6Y2A5JhIc5_bbaT6PUQBiz_KDlSVRbUiwuTPXl79K_LTQWGHTvQ0gp4PqV8UcbHTgZhp-8dcALvSnt5FUEJpzOzWIMiGpsGqw59vu9BZyRuNYLyFF9m3c/s1600/Enslaved-Odyssey-To-The-West-Widescreen-Wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskHqDBxV25NQPJuKIJ4GwjP6Y2A5JhIc5_bbaT6PUQBiz_KDlSVRbUiwuTPXl79K_LTQWGHTvQ0gp4PqV8UcbHTgZhp-8dcALvSnt5FUEJpzOzWIMiGpsGqw59vu9BZyRuNYLyFF9m3c/s320/Enslaved-Odyssey-To-The-West-Widescreen-Wallpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: Enslaved</b><br />
<b>Platform: Xbox 360</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: 9/29/11</b><br />
<b>Cost: $9.99</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
I bought this game on a whim after hearing about someone talk about it on some gaming podcast. Overall the game is fun, but it does have some very generic gameplay progression (explore, fight, explore, learn new ability, fight, boss). I'm not a big fan of Monkey, the male protagonist, who seems as much a typical male macho-protagonist as possible. The real star of the show is the female protagonist, Trip. Her writing and acting are done in a way that conveys fear for herself, but also a great deal of empathy for Monkey, whom she enslaved. The environment, which consist of a Earth-like city overgrown by nature, is also very interesting to me.<br />
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It's not a great game so far, but the story has a hold on me, so I plan on slogging it out to the end.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSNg2TZ4UB8m-cK8viGsGtq356LECQXRO7xm0En7c7c1lgC96fzaAWht-gdv5eSXLR7hYLOYtRKHT9qHP9ZIqm-lMxBH5VhLULMw24pggeI_c9AmT3-l7B3t_iGWEWYsdSdAMW3MQ8GY/s1600/LOU3db196_DigNRig_title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSNg2TZ4UB8m-cK8viGsGtq356LECQXRO7xm0En7c7c1lgC96fzaAWht-gdv5eSXLR7hYLOYtRKHT9qHP9ZIqm-lMxBH5VhLULMw24pggeI_c9AmT3-l7B3t_iGWEWYsdSdAMW3MQ8GY/s320/LOU3db196_DigNRig_title.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Title: Dig-N-Rig</b><br />
<b>Platform: PC</b><br />
<b>Purchase Date: N/A</b><br />
<b>Cost: N/A</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
I downloaded this game after hearing a guest on the Giant Bombcast (it might have been Paul Barnett, though I can't remember) gush about it. The game is quite fun, if a bit on the simple side. You basically drill stuff, which creates resources, which you funnel to your home base by way of conveyor belts and lifts, then you buy new stuff, upgrade your old stuff, then dig deeper. There is an overall goal, that being to reach the core of the planet, but it may prove unattainable for some. Usually after about two hours of gameplay my drill disappears (?), so my digging activities are limited to using explosive devices. <br />
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Like I said, the game is fun, but I don't think I'll be playing this next week. On a positive note finding this game also revealed the massive game vault over at Digipen (the folks who created Portal), so regardless of the outcome this game was totally worth the time.<br />
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<b>In The Bag For 2012</b><br />
Alan Wake - 1/25Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-58501490461779390842012-01-29T11:48:00.001-05:002012-01-29T11:48:27.792-05:00Corn SyrupWhy must everything have corn syrup in it? BBQ sauce? Fine whatever, but soy sauce? Worcestershire sauce? Someone explain that to me, please. <br />
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Kiss my ass, corn industry.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-2670710536570019962012-01-02T13:30:00.000-05:002012-01-02T13:30:01.840-05:00Too Old-School/Cheap?I had a conversation with a co-worker the other day concerning the Steam Holiday Sale. I was spreading the Steam-love, telling him some of the great deals I had seen online (specifically Dead Space 2, Avadon, and the GTA Bundle). He looked amused at my glee (I love spreading cheapness) and replied, "gravy, you're too old school, man."<br />
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This surprised me. "What do you mean? Most of those games were released this year"<br />
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"But they are all played out. You've talked about both Skyrim and Saint's Row 3. Why don't you just get one of those? And Avadon? A turn-based game?"<br />
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This required a bit of thought. "If I wait I can get them cheaper. By this time next year Saint's Row 3 at the very least will be $15 on sale, and if Skyrim doesn't some out with an expansion pack it will be too. Also, back off of Avadon. If you tried the demo you would see why I like <a href="http://www.spidweb.com/" target="_blank">that companies' games</a>."<br />
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"So you're just a cheap-ass, then. You don't want to support a game while it is hot."<br />
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"A <a href="http://www.cheapassgamer.com/" target="_blank">cheap-ass</a>? No. Yes. Let me explain: I am both old school and a cheap-ass, I don't see the value of jumping into a game at a $59 price point. That doesn't mean I'm not supporting the game (it's not like I'm buying them used), but I like to put more value on my money."<br />
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"What about the multiplayer component you are missing-"<br />
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"I don't care about multiplayer. Get back to work."<br />
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I don't care about multiplayer. I haven't cared since I took advantage of a 48 hour Gold Pass on Xbox Live and was asked nearly continuously if I was a "Nigger", a "Spic", and a "Faggot", all because I was actually competent at the game (which was the original Saint's Row, by the way). That was enough for me. Ever since voice chat has become a norm in multiplayer games it I've been turned off by what I've heard. My coworker doesn't see this, as he is a professional gamer (on the side) and generally only practices and competes on closed servers, so any verbal jocularity he experiences in these environments can be put down to verbal sparring, instead of a hate filled rant because I played better than my opponent for five minutes. At this statement many would no doubt berate me, saying that this is how things are now, so I need to cheerup or piss off. I've opted to piss off. <br />
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And old school? Proud of it. The day I can no longer play a game for the old school content that it offers, be it story, gameplay, controls, or graphics, is the day that I tell the whole gaming world to piss off.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-21786478191645991462012-01-02T11:39:00.000-05:002012-01-02T11:48:12.592-05:00Steam Holiday Sale FinaleLast night I was able to make a decision on game purchases for the Steam Holiday Sale. Having a spending ceiling of $30 ended up forcing my hand, with the final list being:<br />
<ul>
<li>Dead Space 2 - $9.99</li>
<li><strike style="color: red;">Oddboxx (all four Oddworld games) - $3.74</strike></li>
<li>Portal 2 - $7.49</li>
<li style="color: red;"><strike>Avadon - $4.99</strike></li>
<li>X3: Albion Prelude - $9.99</li>
<li>Terraria - $2.49</li>
</ul>
Unfortunately, the last sale included Portal 2 75% off, so my hand was forced. Avadon and the Oddboxx fell by the wayside again, primarily because I couldn't pass up such Portal 2 at such a great price. Sorry, guys, better luck next time.<br />
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Finally, since the Steam Sale is nearly at a close (it concludes at 1pm EST), the Epic Holiday Giveaway is at hand. All the prizes look tasty, but the one I'm looking at (and every other hopeful) is the Grand Prize: Every single game on Steam! Man, that would be hardcore. I could officially retire from looking at sales for the next few years, along with deleting quite a few games from my wishlist (which starting to get ridiculous).<br />
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Good luck, everyone.<br />
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UPDATE: Ahhh! Don't forget to touch-up your Wishlist, as the first and second prices coincide with the top ten and five games (respectively) on your wishlist.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-84399490672572227632012-01-01T09:27:00.000-05:002012-01-01T09:27:17.973-05:00Steam Sale Reconsidered pt 1No sooner did I hit the "Publish" button did my wife walk into the room and ask about the Steam sale. Apparently, now I can get "something" from the store. The only problem is there is less than fours hours left in the sale (though on the Steam frontpage the countdown timer says "New Deal Starts In", which is maddening).<br />
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When I purchase games, I tend to spend more time (and frankly, have almost as much fun) mulling over my choices, adding and subtracting from my cart innumerable times.<br />
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This is going to be a long morning.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-90969192322858173542012-01-01T08:08:00.001-05:002012-01-01T08:08:07.061-05:00"Gaming, Art, and El Shaddai"Just wanted to share <a href="http://www.rfgeneration.com/news/gaming-and-art/Gaming-Art-and-El-Shaddai-2070.php" target="_blank">this great article</a> crafted by slackur down at <a href="http://www.rfgeneration.com/" target="_blank">RF Generation</a>. It's an interesting piece on, well, slackur's views regarding videogames as art. Some of what he has to say is a little controversial, but it is both well written and well defended.<br />
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While you're there, why not check out some more of <a href="http://www.rfgeneration.com/bloggers/slackur/" target="_blank">slackur's articles</a>. <br />
<br />Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-36259854250440738912012-01-01T07:47:00.000-05:002012-01-01T07:48:01.463-05:00A Sad Time To Be BrokeThis past week has seen some of the best sales for digital games in memory. Period. Are you an iOS gamer? Pretty much every game that is worth buying in the Apple App Store (with a few notable exceptions) has seen some sort of discount, from the drop of recent release GTA 3 ($4.99 to $2.99) to the $.99 sales seen at Gameloft and EA. The real deals, however, are on Steam. The Steam Holiday Sale is in full swing, and since it has started we have seen some excellent deals that just couldn't be passed up.<br />
<br />
Unless you are me. Sigh.<br />
<br />
Well, it's not like I planned on this. True, I knew exactly when this was happening (I bought a small, yet quite enjoyable gaggle of games last Holiday Sale), so I have no excuse there. I just ran out of money, I guess.<br />
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Sigh.<br />
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I think for next year I might just add about $100 to my Steam Wallet (something I didn't know about until recently) so that next year my pity-party won't be as grand. End of complaining.<br />
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This day marks the last day of the Steam Holiday Sale, so if there is anything you want, I suggest you do it. Vamanos.<br />
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<br />Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-35180962020833649832011-12-17T23:56:00.000-05:002011-12-17T23:56:00.859-05:00GTA 3? Again?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ikQhDaNEtwukmYr6B-QAGcBpowSYHGzdtPUmXTXRyGlQELpCjIcXQGQYvsE462oL6nUjJtdF3R_JEmpjO5N2qIqHbbbaq9XNyQfirCHafnzeEYa6_eAwr54ojn5Fqi96ol0h15Z-hj4/s1600/GTA3Ann_collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ikQhDaNEtwukmYr6B-QAGcBpowSYHGzdtPUmXTXRyGlQELpCjIcXQGQYvsE462oL6nUjJtdF3R_JEmpjO5N2qIqHbbbaq9XNyQfirCHafnzeEYa6_eAwr54ojn5Fqi96ol0h15Z-hj4/s200/GTA3Ann_collage.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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So I'm not sure how this happened, but I somehow managed to miss the fact that Grand Theft Auto 3 has landed in the App Store. You know, life was just so less complicated before twenty minutes ago. Here I was, getting ready to dump Alan Wake into my Xbox, when I noticed that the damn game was $4.99, which is exactly $5 less than Chinatown Wars (and $2 less than Infinity Blade II). Dammit. Do I really need this game? After 3.4 second of deliberation I can confidently say "yes" to that question. The only real issue is how I am going to explain this to my wife...<br />
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<br />Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-4347486133136240762011-12-15T16:38:00.000-05:002011-12-15T16:38:01.791-05:00What Happened?Wow. Needless to say, I've been doing other things. It started with game purchases on Steam, then escalated with school. Oh, well. I've been playing Episodes From Liberty City sporadically, but the game I've been playing more often than most is the Testing New Computers game. Well, I guess new in the context of this post is a relative term, as I work for a computer remarketing company, so nothing I have access to is new.<br />
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Back to games. While I did play and beat GTAIV, I never played much of Lost and Damned, and nothing of Gay Tony. So far everything seems good, though I couldn't help but notice that there is a Full Monty about five or six hours into Lost and Damned. Sure, this is old news at this point (it was released almost three years ago), but when you don't expect it the sudden appearance of a swinging dick is quite shocking. Also I killed Brian, the butt-sniffing lackey. While on a mission to kill(?) him I rounded a corner and saw him standing there with arms raised in defense. I was so trigger happy I gave him about three rounds with my auto-loading shotgun before I could stop my traitor hands. He looked like he was trying to say something, but now I may never know (I refuse to look anything up about this game until I finish it). <br />
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Once I get my new/old rig running >85% I'll likely have more impressions. Then again, maybe not. Is Lost and Damned a one trick pony? Does it have anything more to offer than male nudity and a single choice? Stay tuned. Or don't, I don't give a whip.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-12109751691727398172011-11-25T13:33:00.000-05:002011-11-25T13:33:14.418-05:00Steam Sale Day Three and MoreDay three of the Steam Sale reveals <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/" target="_blank">even better deals</a>, with Deus Ex: Human Revolution for $24.99 and Dead Island for $19.99. Oldies include GTA IV and Knights of the Old Republic, both for $4.99 each. A highlight (for those that don't already own it) is the GTA franchise sale, which goes for just over $12.<br />
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For those of us with an iOS device, Gameloft and Electronic Arts are having pretty massive sales, with the latter of the companies offering their entire catalog for $1. I recommend Dead Space, which is a highly enjoyable addition to the Dead Space franchise. Notably missing from the Gameloft sale is their Saints Row/GTA series clone, Gangstar, and their Halo series clone, N.O.V.A.. On a side note, GTA: Chinatown Wars on iOS is now only $2.99, though it might be a price drop and not sale price.<br />
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I don't know about you, but I don't think I will be able to hold off my purchases for another few days.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-46586711974545748622011-11-24T03:28:00.000-05:002011-11-24T03:28:17.586-05:00Retraction?So I feel like I need to say something about games. I love games, but I really love <i>getting deals on games</i>. Weird, I know, but very true. Just recently <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/" target="_blank">Steam launched this years Autumn Sale</a> (did they gave one last year?), where many of the games may be purchased at a reduced price. For someone like me (who is cheap) this is most decidedly a recipe for heartburn. What do I get? Whatever is cheap. What makes this job easier is that my supply of dead presidents is much lower this time of year than normal, so choosing is just a bit easier than say, during the Tax Refund Steam Sale (come on, Steam, you <i>need</i> to do this).<br />
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The first thing I noticed is that the two games I want are not on sale. This is expected, as each seems to be quite popular in its own right. Despite my own initial hype, I think (read: might) be able to wait for this. Maybe. Anyways, I've been spending a bit of time adding and deleting games from my cart of Steam, trying to get the perfect combination of awesome games to satisfy my cheapness-palette and not offend my bank account. Unlike last year, I don't necessarily feel an attraction to games that have a larger full price-to-sale price ratio, which will no doubt guarantee more of these games being played, which will in turn make the argument for buying games during the inevitable Steam Christmas Sale.<br />
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I have my eyes on a small number of cheap-but-fun games, some of which are on my Steam wish list. A few, such as Dead Island (which is 50% off normal pricing), will not be considered at this time. So far I have:<br />
<ul><li>Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth - $4.99</li>
<li>Avadon - $4.99</li>
<li>Mass Effect - $4.99</li>
<li>Mass Effect 2 - $4.99</li>
<li>Cthulhu Saves the World & Breath of Death VII Double Pack - $1.00</li>
<li>Saints Row 2 - $7.49</li>
<li>Amnesia - $9.99</li>
</ul> I know, having two Cthulhu mythos games on one list might be much, but based on the reviews and videos of Dark Corners of the Earth, I am willing to take this chance. The total so far for this list is <b>$38.44</b>. Ideally, I would like to have this sub-twenty bucks. So far the Saints Row 2, Cthulhu Saves the World, and Avadon are must-buys and I am currently reviewing videos and general opinions to help me decide about the rest.<br />
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The saddest part is I'm enjoying the whole consideration process so much that I'm beginning to doubt that my ability to enjoy playing the games will be less.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-61297596649617331752011-11-20T14:08:00.000-05:002011-11-20T14:08:55.800-05:00That Time of the YearNormally I'm anywhere from one to ten years behind the gaming media in my game playing. Case and point, I'm playing <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/stalker-shadow-of-chernobyl/61-11725/" target="_blank"><b>S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl</b></a> on Steam and <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/mercenaries-playground-of-destruction/61-7633/" target="_blank"><b>Mercenaries</b></a> on PS2. This habit wasn't started from necessity, but rather because I start to get a rather large retro jones around March that lasts until the end of November. During this time I spend equal amounts of time playfully dancing through my backlog of old games and seeking out gems I missed from the past. It's a wonderful habit, and something I've been doing for over a decade now.<br />
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However, November is almost over. I find myself stopping to check websites and blogs when I listen to gaming podcasts to check on screenshots and system requirements on games I hear about. Two games in particular have tunneled their way into my subconscious: <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/saints-row-the-third/61-25725/" target="_blank"><b>Saint's Row: The Third</b></a> and <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/61-33394/" target="_blank"><b>Elder Scrolls: Skyrim</b></a>. <br />
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More on these games later.Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2167644495034316693.post-12769068947514596822011-11-20T13:30:00.000-05:002011-11-20T13:30:25.108-05:00Random Thoughts #1: ExplanationsSo I couldn't help but notice that there are birds in the corner of this blog. So, the primary reason I stopped posting on my old website was that I could only post at home from my main computer, not because of limitations, but because I'm stupid and couldn't be bothered to learn how to do it otherwise. This blog will allow me to post when I feel so inclined to without screwing around with FTP or code to get comments to work right.<br />
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I want to say that I'll fix the birds later, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I won't (at least until some one mentions it to me).Gravyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13360801882050959573noreply@blogger.com0